7 Songs Overlooked in ‘07
Though it’s arguably best to start fresh with a new year upon us, the wise scribes of the web, always eager to list, compile, and debate the merits of a recently closed calendar year, invariably leave us with unfinished business: telling you about the best stuff that inexplicably evaded the concluding ‘07 ‘net hype.
They range from artists well-known to nearly un-known, and several of the tracks here-in found some acclaim at the time of their release, but just didn’t have the steam to make it to December. So SAK humbly presents: 7 songs that should have rocked your face in the last calendar year.
The Harlem Shakes - “Old Flames” You are all to blame. Available evidence indicates that The Shakes closed every ‘07 set they played–and your SAK correspondent saw plenty of them (from Union Pool in February to Mercury Lounge in October)–with this, their ear-splitting, riot-inspiring kiss off to lovers departed. You must have left early.
Peter Bjorn & John / Girl Talk - “Let’s Call It Off (Remix) PB&J’s acclaimed Writer’s Block hit US shelves in early 2007, considerably later than it arrived overseas; in its single-disc incarnation on these shores, the stand-out bonus track was post-mash-up sensation Girl Talk’s pimped-out, eletronically-upgraded, kettle-drum-laced take on the Swedish Threesome’s tale of nipped-in-the-bud romance.
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - “The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart” They will never die!
Ravens And Chimes “General Lafayette! You Are Not Alone” Seeming to be better known for their blog-distributed (but seemingly commercially unavailable) cover of Leonard Cohen’s “So Long, Marianne,” six-piece R&C paint both broad and intimate portraits on NYC-backdrops, and this driving number grips us most when the narrator simply sings out: “I know, I know.”
Parts And Labor - “The Gold We’re Digging” An interesting article appeared somewhere recently–maybe it was in that free magazine they give you on airplanes?–about people who do this Feng Shui type thing with sound, trying to make all the ambient hums and buzzing one hears in a room coordinate properly. I’ll bet P&L are aware of this practice, but I can’t tell if they adhere to it or not.
OCDJ - “pls stp th hstl” Rich Boy’s had a multitude of re-interpreters and would-be editors, but Baltimore’s OCDJ, serving crack-paced, fructose-fueled candy crunklets like a David Remnick for the Chiptune set, joyfully distills “Throw Some D’s” to its Platonic ideal–”big rims / big chain / big ‘Lac / big chain / flip flopped / top dropped / flip flopped / glock cocked”–then throws some (8-bit) keys on that bitch.
The Weakerthans - “Night Windows” I long resisted the nasal half-whine of all known hyperliterate indie songsmith/frontmen (an identified subspecies, bred largely in the Pacific Northwest, with smaller pockets apparently spread across Canada), but this ‘lil gem had me from the first bass note and never let go.
Tags: Girl Talk, OCDJ, Parts And Labor, Peter Bjorn & John, Ravens And Chimes, The Harlem Shakes, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, The Weakerthans